This interweb thing could catch on, you know?

I'm really starting to think that this interweb could be catching on. It's a really good research tool, can be used for all sorts of entertainment, and can also be used to put one in touch with his or her past. Allow me to explain.

Last Wednesday, I happened to be in Springfield, bowling in my AM league and finishing up some Christmas shopping at the Springfield Museums. On the way out of town, I noticed a lighted marquee at the Monarch Place hotel, touting a New Years' Eve program with a man by the name of Roger Salloom. Interestingly enough, he happened to be a substitute teacher in my high school. I used to enjoy chatting with him, attempting to get him to talk about his music...only to be rebuffed. As I thought about him through the years, I always wondered if he really did embrace his musical self.

With my interest piqued by that sighting, I arrived home and did some research on the web. My work showed that, yes, Roger Salloom did indeed embrace his musical self and has returned to writing and recording after something like 20-25 years away from it. How cool is that? He's still living back home in Northampton, and he's sort of grown his star quality over the years. In finding his website, I decided to drop him an email, congratulating him on restarting his career. To my surprise, he replied! In telling me that he was touched by my remembrances, he opened up a large flood gate of memories.

One such memory was a time in my high school career where I wasn't feeling so great about myself or anyone around me. I was one of those students that was constantly picked on by other, more popular kids in school. I was tormented by the bullies, scorned by the popular kids and laughed at by the athletes...I didn't really fit in with anyone and had very few friends. One day, during a particularly trying time (my father was ill...he was a much older man than the "average" father), I was having trouble with a group of students in the lunch room who were doing their best to assert their place on the social scale. One student pulled a chair out from under me as I was going to sit, causing me to fall on the floor and spill my food everywhere. Mr. Salloom came to my aid, picked me up, brought me to a better spot in the room, helped me get another lunch and sat with me. While another teacher did the dirty work of disciplining the group, He cared enough to figure out who I was, chat with me and ensure that I was okay and able to eat lunch in peace. He always greeted me by name (more than I could say for most any other teacher in that school), asked me how I was...even asked me how my father was several times after the surgery and his subsequent recovery. I never forgot that. In fact, my father taught me about integrity, honesty and how one should act in most situations...and Mr Salloom demonstrated to me how easy it is to show simple human kindness. It was so very nice to see that he's retained that quality over the years.

In researching Roger Salloom prior to finding him, I did find that he is on the 2006 Official Ballot for Grammy Awards in 8 categories! And he is the subject of a new documentary movie entitled, "So Glad I Made It, the Saga of Roger Salloom. America's Best Unknown Songwriter." WOW!

So, yep...I'm amazed at what this little box in my room can do. Pushing a few simple keys has resulted in me reconnecting with someone who was influential in my past. Granted I know this doesn't happen very often as time marches on and people change. But it's nice to see that as fluid and constant as this huge world is, sometimes things don't change.